Almost every day a unique story crosses my desk about The Shack and how it draws people to the heart of the Father, especially those who have endured great tragedy or are facing incredible challenges. It has given them the space to live inside of the love of the Father at such moments, rather than mistakenly see them as proof that they are not loved.
Here’s an interesting one I got a few weeks ago from a dear friend in Kansas City:
A friend of mine died from bone cancer, an extremely painful and slow death. He was only 57 years old. In the memorial service program it said the following;
“Stu grew closer to the Lord through the reading of the book, The Shack, in his last months. He was thrilled to give witness to his faith and provide copies to many nurses while hospitalized at KU Medical Center this summer. Copies of the book have been donated in honor of Stu and are available today. Feel free to take a copy from the display table on a first come, first served basis.”
The church that he attended all of his life and where the memorial service was held refused to sell The Shack in their bookstore stating that the theology was too controversial.
There were 250 copies of The Shack on the display table in the church the afternoon of his memorial service – there were none left after the service was over.
I’m most excited for the comfort this book gave Stu as he prepared to cross the threshold of his first face-to-face meeting with the Father of all Creation. Last Saturday night I had the opportunity to join a local Foursquare house church network to talk about The Shack and the great them of living inside of God’s love that’s addressed in I John 4:16-19. I heard some amazing stories there as to how this book has brought people closer to God.
Finally, two weeks ago I did an open question/Answer session about THE SHACK at the Third Presbyterian Church in Richmond, Virginia. They just posted the audio of that evening for those who would like to listen in. I’ll warn you it isn’t the best quality audio, but you can at least hear the content.
![Sharing the Journey [Audio] by Wayne Jacobsen](https://www.lifestream.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/SharingJourney.jpg)
Now you making me wish I could have been there to see the ‘fake teaser trailer’. I guess I’ll just have to hope you come to Houston some time.
Now you making me wish I could have been there to see the ‘fake teaser trailer’. I guess I’ll just have to hope you come to Houston some time.
I was listening to your Richmond audio; particularly the part about the joy of reading it for the first time. I really miss that too, and I’ve read it 4-5 times so far. I gave the book to my dad, now 84 years old, and he is currently on his 14th reading. He is suffering from the onset of Alzeimers and his short term memory is almost non-existent. But he says one of the blessings of such terrible short term memory is that every time he reads The Shack, it’s almost as fresh as the first time he read it!
I was listening to your Richmond audio; particularly the part about the joy of reading it for the first time. I really miss that too, and I’ve read it 4-5 times so far. I gave the book to my dad, now 84 years old, and he is currently on his 14th reading. He is suffering from the onset of Alzeimers and his short term memory is almost non-existent. But he says one of the blessings of such terrible short term memory is that every time he reads The Shack, it’s almost as fresh as the first time he read it!
John what a touching story – that sounds like the secret of retaining that first love. That is an incredibly wonderful place to be with a fresh love for Papa everyday. Thanks for sharing it.
John what a touching story – that sounds like the secret of retaining that first love. That is an incredibly wonderful place to be with a fresh love for Papa everyday. Thanks for sharing it.